Panaji, Oct 12 (IANS) A German woman who had complained that her daughter was being sexually harassed by the Goa education minister’s son, now claims that the police would “prefer” her to withdraw the complaint. Speaking to the media Sunday, Fadella Fuchs alleged that the police were sitting on her complaint filed on Oct 2.

“They said it is up to you to decide what to do. It seems they prefer that I withdraw the complaint,” Fuchs claimed, adding that she was contacted by the Goa Police supervisory officer to fix an appointment to discuss the case only on Oct 11, nine days after the complaint was filed.

Fuchs, a researcher on Indian mythologies, in her complaint to the Calangute police had claimed that Education Minister Atanasio Monseratte’s son Rohit Monseratte had been sexually harassing her daughter by sending her lewd SMSes.

“After I learnt who the person was, I was shocked. I knew this would be very difficult. If he was someone else, the police would have registered an offence. Now I know they will try to attack my daughter’s character. It’s not my fault that the boy happens to be a minister’s son. I had to do this to protect my child,” Fuchs told the media.

She claimed that she had been through an emotional ordeal in the last few days. “My daughter has been sexually used. Her mental hygiene has been ruined. What she is going through is hard enough. Sooner or later I thought I would find my child dead. I have seen it in the recent past,” claimed Fuchs, hinting at the sordid murder of British teen Scarlett Keeling.

She claimed that on Oct 3, one day after the complaint was filed against Rohit, his mother Jennifer Monseratte had visited her, imploring her to withdraw the complaint. “Rohit knew my daughter was a minor. She became 14 in July. You cannot allow youngsters to be used by adults, who they love and treat like friends,” she claimed.

The complaint which is lying unattended with the Goa Police even quotes some messages which Rohit sent to the victim. While most messages are vulgar in content, there are others which coax the girl to make sure that she drinks and smokes excessively. Another says: “Please make sure you do not get pregnant”.

Goa, which has been a favourite tourist destination for the international traveller, has been rocked by scandals involving foreign nationals in the recent past, resulting in the coastal state dropping off the popularity charts. This coupled with global recession has resulted in a dip in the number of international tourists visiting Goa this tourist season.